Alex Van Zelfden Author Bio

Education: Studied music theory, composition, and piano in college.

Publications: Steady freelance coverage of music in games for a wide variety of outlets over the years, including IGN, 1UP, Music4Games, Film Score Monthly, Game Informer Online, Next Generation and even GamePolitics.

Platforms played: Mostly known as a PC gamer as far back as the early '80s, but has played his fair share of arcade, console, handheld and mobile games.

Genres played: A little of everything, but favorites include FPSes, fighters, RTSes and graphic adventures.

Multiplayer or single-player: Single-player all the way, although there are always cheerful exceptions made for the right games or co-op modes.

Top 10 games played:

1) Grim Fandango
2) Super Smash Bros. Melee
3) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
4) The Curse of Monkey Island
5) Return to Castle Wolfenstein
6) No One Lives Forever 1 & 2
7) Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2
8) Soulcalibur II
9) Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
10) Cannon Fodder

What makes me tick: Orchestral music, videogames, fencing, classic architecture, travel, WWII, movies & TV and exotic soda flavors from around the world.